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I'll say this for Stranger Things fans - they took the lesson of "don't trust the Man" to heart. So much so that, even now, a certain segment of the fanbase are believers in Conformity Gate, a widespread internet theory that even after the season 5 finale, Stranger Things isn't over. Every day, though, more and more creators who actually worked on the show go on the record to say that there's no truth to that - the most recent of those deniers being Caleb McLaughlin, who plays central character Lucas Sincalir.

McLaughlin made comments regarding the fan theory in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which he did to promote his upcoming animated basketball film GOAT. But of couse, McLaughlin's interviewer wasn't going to shy away from his work on Stranger Things, and McLaughlin himself wasn't going to shy away from his very honest take on the internet's pet Stranger Things conspiracy.

"I thought the Conformity Gate theory was dumb," McLaughlin told his interviewer. "I get that people want to live in this optimistic place of, 'Oh, we want more Stranger Things,' but the show is done, guys. I was like, 'Guys, it’s over. It’s been ten years. We were full-on kids and now we’re full-on adults, and we don’t need any more of us.'"

But that optimism, says the actor, isn't a sign of more to come. Rather, it's the show's creators staying true to its spirit.

"The Duffers, our wonderful, amazing creators," continued McLaughlin, "Wanted to leave everybody with this level of optimism that the show has always given everyone. So if they left the show without that, we would have left Stranger Things without the true essence of what we’ve been representing forever."

So what about that unanswered moment in the finale, which fans everywhere have been interpreting as leaving the door open for a larger truth to be revealed?

"We started off season one playing Dungeons & Dragons, and we ended just like that. And Mike’s storytelling and writing ability is how the show should have ended. I think people missed the concept of what the show is when they were like 'Oh, there’s going to be more.' No, that’s just Mike’s imagination. That’s who he’s always been, even in season one. It’s all just storytelling."

Sorry, believers, that's yet another pretty forceful denial of your carefully constructed conspiracy theory. At this point, it's pretty safe to say that McLaughlin isn't lying, but even if that's the case,  fans who were truly left unfulfilled by the Stranger Things finale have the opportunity to discover something that hurting TV lovers have been using to stay their woes for decades: the magic of fan fiction.

Now that, Caleb, is storytelling.

Stranger Things is streaming in full on Netflix now.

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"